Comic Strip Writer

About the role

This is a paid freelance, remote position. Polygon is a leading destination for coverage of games, entertainment, comics, and culture, bringing readers smart, engaging stories about the media and fandoms they care about. We're looking for passionate and knowledgeable freelance writers with a deep knowledge of comic strips and newspaper comics, from all-time classics to modern favorites.

Responsibilities

• Write engaging features, lists, rankings, retrospectives, recommendations, and opinion pieces focused on classic and contemporary comic strips
• Cover beloved strips such as Calvin and Hobbes, Peanuts, The Far Side, Garfield, and other major properties and creators
• Identify interesting angles around memorable strips, characters, running gags, storylines, creators, controversies, and milestones
• Explore the history and cultural impact of influential comic strips and the cartoonists behind them
• Monitor relevant anniversaries, creator news, reissues, collections, adaptations, and online conversations for timely content opportunities
• Develop article ideas that can appeal to both dedicated comic strip readers and Polygon's broader audience
• Work closely with editors to develop compelling content ideas and execute editorial priorities
• Work independently while consistently meeting deadlines
• Ensure timely publication of content aligned with SEO and audience engagement goals
• Follow editorial and formatting guidelines rigorously

Requirements

• At least 2 years of experience in digital journalism, online publishing, entertainment, comics, culture writing, or a comparable writing environment
• Deep knowledge of comic strips, newspaper comics, and their creators
• Strong familiarity with major strips such as Calvin and Hobbes, Peanuts, The Far Side, Garfield, and others
• Ability to recognize what makes an individual strip, storyline, character, creator, or creative era interesting enough to build an article around
• Strong research skills and the ability to write authoritatively about both familiar and lesser-known aspects of comic strip history
• Ability to independently write and publish clean, accurate, engaging content on deadline
• A strong sense for headlines, rankings, hooks, and topics that will resonate with fans
• Familiarity with SEO and CMS tools is an asset

Benefits

• Fully remote — write from wherever you’d like!
• Opportunities to pitch original ideas
• An amazing community of like-minded people to nerd-out with on a daily basis

Polygon is part of the Valnet Publishing Group. Valnet is committed to producing premium content, and we therefore require all our contributors to adhere to our Editorial Standards, including a prohibition on using Artificial Intelligence.